Acetylene lamp



May 13, 1924.

J. M. BROCK ACETYLENE LAMP Filed'oct. 8, 1919 2 sheets-'sheet 1 Hlm May 13, i924,

J. M. BROCK ACETYLENE LAMP Filed 061;. 8, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 13, 1924.

,STTES JOHN meunier: BROCK, or BROOKLYN, New Yoan.

` ACETYLENE Lamar.

Application filed October 8, 1919. Serial 110.329,39).

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, yJOHN M. BROOK, a

tion is to improve the feed of water to the carbide in such manner as to render the generation of gas steadier, thereby attaining greater uniformity in the character of the flame, and also economizing in the amount of carbide used. Another object of ther invention is to provide improved means, known as a spreader, for holding in position the filtering pad or other means employed to filter the gas as it passes from the carbide or gas-generating chamber to the burner. Other objects and novel features of the invention will be apparent from the descrip-V tion hereinafter.

The underlying principles of the invention willy be best understood from. a detailed description of typical embodiments of the invention, such as thoseJ illustrated in the accompanying drawings. These drawings and the description are to be understood as merely explanatory and not as limiting the invention to the particular construction or constructions shown and eX- plained. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of a mine lamp embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

lfigsQ and L1 are plan views, from the under side, of forms which the novel spreader means may take; and

Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly broken away and in section, of another form in which the invention may be embodied.

Referring rst vmore particularly to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, 10 is the water chamber, and 11 is the carbide container, of an acetylene mine lamp of a type which, as to general features of construction, is well known. In the present example, the parts 10 and 11 are detachably secured-together by means of a screw-thread coupling connection, thel open neck 12 of they carbide vcontainer being formed with threads, as.shown,"and"telescoping into a thimble or socket 13, provided with cooper ating threads, said thimble being secured in any suitable manner to the lower part of the shell forming the water chamber 10, as by soldering or otherwise. The base 14 of the thimble or socket provides a partition separating the water chamber 10 from the carbide chamber 11. Said partition lll-is apertured at 15 to permit passage of gas from the carbide chamber into the burner tube 16 and thence tothe burner tip 17. On the outer end of the burner tube is mounted a `reflector 18, which may carry a 'pyrophoric ignition device 19 in operative relation to the burner tip 17. The water chamber 10 is provided with a'filling opening closed by a hinged cover or plug 2O of any usual or preferred construction.

Mounted centrally within the water chamber and secured to the top and bottom thereof in any suitable way, as by soldering for example, is a guide tube 21, said tube being here shown as projecting through the top and bottom of the water chamber. Fitting within the tube 21 at its lower end, and suitably secured thereto is a slightly smaller tube 22, forming in e ect a downward extension of tube 21. Tube 21 is apertured at a pointl above, and most desirably closely adjacent to, partition 14, as at 21, whereby water may enter the vtube from the water chamber and pass down through water supply tube 22 into the carbide chamber. The upper vendv of tube 21 is closed by a threaded plug 23, which carries a valve sleeve 23 soldered or `otherwise secured thereto, the lower endof said valve sleeve being beveled l as indicated'at 231 to engage the corresponding beveled upper end 22a of sleeve 22, when the screw plug 23 is turned down sufliciently, and Vthus cut off thewater supply. "Said screw plug also has an axial opening to permit a rod 2&1-, to be referred to more fully hereinafter, to pass v-theretlnough with" a close sliding fit and to be rotatable there` within and within valve sleeve 23a. The plug may have its upper surface grooved or slotted, as indicated'at 25to receive and hold against rotation the bent portion or operating handle 26 of said rod.

4The lower end of the water supply tube terminates la short distance below the normal level of thek carbide` in the carbide re ceptacle. As the latter is usually filled about one-half full of carbide in starting, the water tube should extend a little more than half way down into the carbide receptacle. The before-mentioned rod 24, extends from the top of the water receptacle downward through the water-tube, which may be considered broadly as including the guide tube also, where a guide tube is present, and projectsbeyond the lower end of thewater-tube a relatively considerable distance, and advantageously to near the bottom of the carbide receptacle. This projection may amount to about one-half the normal depth of `carbide at starting, or even more.

At 27 is indicated a vertically movable sleeve which, in its lowermost position ex tends a yconsiderable distance below the lower end of the water tube.. This sleeve has a bottom provided with a central opening through which the lower end of the rod 24 extends, this opening being slightly larger than the diameter of the rod at the place where it passes through the opening. The internal diameter of the sleeve above its bottom is slightly larger than the ex` ternal diameter of the lower end of the wa ter-tube, so that the sleeve may telescope upward on the water-tube. The downward movement of the sleeve is limited by any suitable means, so that it cannot drop off the projecting end of the rod or be disen gaged from the water-tube. This may be attained in various ways as, for example, by providing the rod below the sleeve with suitable means for limiting the downward movement of the sleeve. In the examples here shown the lower end of the rod is provided with a head 28, which is easily formed by swaging the rod to expand or atten it, as will be clear from the drawings. By the construction described, the sleeve is mainained in telescopic arrangement with the lower end of the water-tube, and has considerable free play up and down on the water-tube. When first inserted in the charge of fresh carbide, the sleeve is usually en bedded for the greater part of its length. there being only a slight projection of the upper end of the sleeve above the fresh charge of carbide.

As the water flows down the tube in the narrow annular space between the tube and rod, it finally enters the chamber in the interior of the sleeve below the lower end or the water tube and there escapes through the hole in the bottom of the sleeve, around the projecting end of therod. Hence it is supplied first to the lower portion of the carbide, which is therefore first acted upon.

The carbide is kept away from the lower end of the water tube bythe sleeve. As the carbide is acted upon by the water it swells n andv its level in the container is raised. This swelling of the carbide and consequent lifting or raising may cause the sleeve to be lifted also, owing to the friction between the carbide and the sleeve. Then the sleeve is lifted, which may take place during the operation of the lamp, the discharge openings for'the water at the top and bottom of the sleeve are cleared by the disturbing of the sludge so that the water may finally reach the fresh carbide more readily and freely. By the time the carbide charge is exhausted, the sleeve may travel upward to a small extent. Furthermore, as the sleeve and other parts are heated up by the heat of reaction, the small amount of water contained in the sleeve may be in part vaporized, and hence readily escapes into the car# bide. Whether the operations described occur at all times or not, T am unable to determine at present. The facts are that the construction described gives results far superior to any other form of lamp known to me. yIf atany time the sludge should clog the escape outlet through the bottom of the sleeve the water will first lill the chamber in the sleeve and then overfiow at the top of the sleeve, so as to supply water to the carbide at the top. Furthermore, the rod 24 may be vertically reciprocated, and

may be rotated when lifted high enough to d' disengage the handle from slot 25, in order to break up caked sludge. Said handle, when engagedl in slot 25, may be used to turn plug 23 land thus open or close the cutoff valve.

The annular space between the water tube and movable sleeve is too small to allow any particles of carbide to fall into the sleeve, yet will allow water to escape. Any such particles as may lodge on the upper end of the sleeve will be pushed away by the rising of the sleeve.

It is to be noted that the ample space below thelower end of tube 22, between the movable sleeve and rod 24, provides a kind of auxiliary or reserve water chamber 29 of smallbut substantial capacity, closely adjacent the carbide. This arrangement favors steady operation of the lamp.

In actual operation, a lamp having the invention shown in Figs. l and 2 has given remarkable results. any kind during operation, the gas pressure has been `maintained more nearly uniform than with the best lamps heretofore known to me, even when the other lamps have been manipulated during operation in the way recommended by the makers for best operation. ,As a-result of this approach to uniformity of production of gas, there has been a considerable saving in carbide; so that the final result is a longer operation of the lamp for a given charge of carbide.

The construction shown in Fig. 5 differs from that already described mainly in havlio Tithout attention of v ing the spreader firmly in place.

ing the rod provided with a valve inside the sleeve 27 a', operable to close the bottom of the tube and thus to entirely cut 0H the flow of water through the water tube 3l, or to regulate the fiow as may be required. In this construction the rod is attached to the threaded plug 23a, so that as the rod is rotated by its handle, it will lift the valve upward into* engagement with the bottom of the tube, or move it downward away from the tube,r according to the direction of rotation of the rod.

As clearly shown in Fig. l, the gas in passing from the carbide chamber into the burner tube passes through filtering mea-ns of some kind such as an annular Jr'elt pad 32. This pad is held in position by supporting meansof s ome kind, commonly known as a spreader. The presence of the sleeve 27 on the lower end of the water tube necessitates the employment of special spreader means differing from spreader means heretofore employed. In one desirable form which the improved spreader may take and which is illustrated in Fig. 3, the spreader is in the form ot a disc 33, have a dished portion 34, and centrally apertured as at 35, large enough to permit passing the spreader over the sleeve 27 in assembling the device. In this form of the invention, the spreader is held in proper position snugly against the under side of the felt pad 32 by resilient means cooperating with the threads of the coupling connecting the parts comprising the carbide chamber and the water reservoir. In the present exa-mple, these threads are formed in the part 13 which has been designated as the thimble or socket. In the construction here illustrated, the resilient means for holding the spreader in position may take the form of a spring wire 36, which is attached. at one end to disc 33 by soldering or otherwise as indicated at 37, the wire curving eccentricallv with respect to said margin and outward to a point somewhat beyond the same. The projecting free end of the wire may be provided with a hook or bend, 'as indicated at 38, to provide convenient means for engagement by the thumb or finger when it is desired to retract the spring inwardly.

l The disc is suitably apertured as at 39 to allow free passage of gas therethrough. In placing the spreader in position, it may be slipped on over the sleeve 27 and water tube and pushed upward until the portion of spring 36 projecting beyond the disk margin engages the screw-thread. By then engaging the hooked end of spring 36 with the thumb or finger, and compressing the spring, the spreader may be pushed up into finalposition. By releasing the spring it snaps outwardly into engagement with the threads on the inside of 13, thus hold- It pre- 'ferred, the spring 36 need not be manipulated at all but the spreader merely pushed up until the spring engages the screwthread and the spreader then turned in the proper direction to screw the spreader up into position. Similarly the spreader may be removed by turning it in the opposite direction to back it ofi1 g or the spring catch can be compressed as before and the spreader removed by a direct pull. It is convenient, but not essential, also to provide the spreader with centering and guiding means to yieldingly engage the water tube 22. As here shown, such means may consist of a clip device suitably secured to the disk and having depending resilient arms i0 sym metrically disposed with respect to the central opening 35, which arms frictionally engage the water tube 22 when the spreader is in position. Said arms have their lower ends turned outwardly so as to slide easily over the beveled upper end of sleeve 27 when the spreader is being removed. Such guiding means also serve the purpose of enabling the spreader to be conveniently grasped for manipulation of the spring catch when the spreader is being placed in position or removed. Any other suitable mea-ns for accomplishing this end may of course be used. By properly designing said arms 40 to prevent their taking a permav nent set when sprung outward to pass over sleeve 27, they may be made to engage water tube 22 tightly enough to hold the spreader in position without the use ot spring 36.

Another form of spreader which is sim ple and effective is illustrated in Fig. 4. In this form, the disk has a slot 41 extending from the center of the disk to the margin. Said slot need be only wide enough to receive water tube 22. Resilient arms 40 are provided as before. In assembling the spreader with the lamp, the tube 22, at a locality above sleeve 27, is engaged in the open outer end of slot il and the disk is then pushed laterally into position on the tube and then up against the filter' pad. rIKlie spring arms A4C() engage the tube 22, and since in this form of spreader they do not have to pass over the enlargement caused by sleeve 27, their resiliency remains unirnpaired and they alone may be relied upon to grip tube 22 firmly enough to hold the filter pad in position.

Broadly speaking, a feature common to the several forms of spreader means herein described is an arrangement of parts such that a spreader equipped with resilient hold-` ing means may be readily placed in position on a water tube having a lower terminal enlargement of the character described, without impairing the effectiveness of the, resilient holding means.

What I claim is:

l. In a portable acetylene lamp, the combination with a Water reservoir and a gas generating chamber, of a gas conduit leadn ing from said chamber, filtering means interposed between said chamber and said conduit, and means resiliently engaging a side Wall of said chamber and arranged to maintain said filtering means in position.

2.111 a portable acetylene lamp, the combination with a Water reservoir and a gas `generating chamber connected by a screv-v threaded coupling, a Water-tube leading from the water reservoir into the gas chamber, a gas conduit leading from said chamber, filtering means interposed between said chamber and said conduit, a disk apertnred to accommodate said water tube and provided with resilient means adapted and arranged to cooperate with said coupling in removably holding` said disk in engagement with said filtering means.

3. In a portable acetylene lamp, the combination with a Water rese 'voir and a gas generating chamber connected by a screw threaded coupling, a Water-tube leading from the Water reservoir into the gas chamber, a member on the lower end of said water-tube forming a substantial enlargement thereof, a disk apertured to permit its being positioned on said tube above said enlargement or removed therefrom, as desired, and resilient means Whereb f said disk is held at the proper height on said tube.

4. A. spreader device for portable acetylene lamps comprising a circular disk provided with retractable resilientmeans normally projecting beyond the disk margin.

A spreader device for portable acetylene lamps comprising a circular disk, and a retractable spring catch secured thereto and normally projecting beyond the disk margin.

A spreader device for portable acetylene lamps comprising a circular disk, and a retractable spring catch secured thereto and normally projecting beyond the disk margin, in combination with resilient guide means symmetrically disposed with respect to a central aperture in said disk.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature.

JOHN MAURICE BROCK. 

